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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 25, 2002)
IOND AY MARCH 25, 2002 VOLUME 108 * ISSUE 116 BATTALIA tht? t> a nr nr a t ir\ 1 iLiL BA1 1AJL1U i&M may be hub for national security sank 10 feet I forming ar ed two adult n infant from ?stinian fiber kills tudents vying or mayor seat USALEM (AP) nian suit ?r blew himsel main downto em shopping? lay in an ai attack that ki /slanders. At le A/ere wound' said. response to Israel canceled of U.S.-brokeii fire talks with nians planned hursday. ' explosion w he foot of the office tower, ieorge Street e of several ol shooting ng attacks. Al Aqsa Brig la linked to s Fatah fa d responsibility mbing. 5! DNDS DS ^lONDS TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY By Emily Peters THE BATTALION Early planning for A&M to house the ional Center for Homeland Security was roved by the board of Regents Friday. The ter will make A&M the hub of collaborated onal efforts to develop new security technol- in biohazard management, emergency tonses and sociopolitical issues. .S. Rep. Kevin Brady presented the idea to slature Wednesday in the midst of President ’s requests to make national security a national priority due to increased vulnerability post-Sept. 11. The National Security Agency said A&M is heavily qualified for its already-established pro grams, including the National Emergency Response and Rescue Training Center, the Food Safety Inspection Service, and the Texas Transportation Institute. Officials said A&M would look to Congress to fund the $120 million project over a five-year period. The regents also passed a myriad of fees for A&M and A&M system schools. The academic enhancement fee will charge $30 more per semester credit hour starting with new students next fall, requiring the average student to pay $400 more in tuition each semester. Parking, diplomas, transcripts and medical services will also be more expensive, in addition to a new Software Licensing fee, and a $2 increase for faculty salaries. Regents also heard that the football complex soon to be built on the south end of Kyle Field is already working under budget. Careful planning coupled with low bid proposals from construction companies will result in a project price $1.9 million below the originally-proposed price. Regents approved construction contracts and the University’s partnership with the 12th Man Foundation, who will fund the $23 million complex solely from private endowments. The complex, which is beginning construction this month, will house football dressing rooms, training rooms, coaches’ offices, lounges and an athlete study center. Upon the complex’s expected completion in August 2003, stadium capacity will increase from 82,600 to somewhere between 102,000 and 104,000. In other business, the railroad will not be removed from the A&M campus, Chuck Sippial, A&M VP for Administration, reported to the See Regents on page 2 f Christina Hoffman THE BATTALION lege 5] lome Texas A&M students an Aggie voice on the Station City Council. :e the 44,000 A&M stu- 5 living in College Station ;e up over half the popula- ofCollege Station, a group tudents is running for posi- s on the city council feel should make the majority :e heard. aime Cruz, Jr., a 23-year- senior economics major, is ling for mayor of College so he can provide a efor the students at A&M. n hCollege Station, we have minority ruling and the (My being ignored,” Cruz want to be a voice for jWfldents, a voice which has on deaf ears until now.” ct. Ws May, four of seven city lc 'l positions will be avail- for election, including the 'ion of mayor. The College City Council meets on second and fourth Thursday f ver Y month. It is not a full- administrative position, said. Hie mayor has many advisers elpwith decisions, Cruz said, dore, his young age will not This ability to serve on city Incil. A'eir duties are to make •'hat the policies being set hare in sync with what the "•lation, as a whole, wants,” 12 said. “We mostly vote on policies that the people want.” Cruz said he is serious and fully committed about running for mayor. He has not received any negative comments, but said he sometimes feels people are not taking him seriously because he is a student. He said students need to step up to a challenge of this kind. He felt an obligation to run for mayor after realizing the lack of representation for students in College Station. “Earlier in the fall semester, I began attending the city coun cil meetings regularly. It struck me as odd that in a college town where we, the students, make up well over half the pop ulation, there wasn’t anybody on council who represented us,” Cruz said. Cruz will run against three other mayoral candidates: Dick Birdwell, age 71, who served on the College Station council from 1988-1992, and again from 1996-1998; and Councilman Ron Silvia, who first announced he would run for mayor in February. Last week, Chris Field, a 19 year old Blinn College stu dent, filed to run for College Station mayor. Cruz is not the only student aiming to provide a voice for A&M students. Corps member T.J. Flowers, a junior history major, is running for Council Position 4 and Natalie See Mayor on page 2 B IONDS Chris Field, 19 - BUnn College freshman Jaime Cruz, 23 - Texas A&M senior Ron Silvia, 64 - City councilman Dick Birdwell, 70 - Former city councilman Source: City of College Station CHAD MALLAM • THE BATTALION STUART VILLANUEVA • THE BATTALION One-year-old Dakaiya Brown watches from her front door as senior accounting major Adrian Sumter and other members of Delta Sigma Theta paint her house in College Station during the 20th Big Event on Saturday. Nearly 3,000 Aggies participated in the community service project. Big Event celebrates 20th year By Melissa McKeon THE BATTALION Approximately 6,730 Texas A&M volunteers celebrated the twentieth anniversary of Big Event Saturday by helping at over 550 sites in the Bryan- College Station area . Tasks included fixing, clean ing, painting, weeding, planting trees and building fences. The students gathered at Simpson Drill Field at 9 a.m. for a kick off event that included a concert by Saving Dawn, as well as free food and drinks. Ashley McAlpine, director of Big Event and a senior industrial engineering major, told the gath ered students they were “a testa ment to the true Aggie spirit.” A&M President Dr. Ray M. Bowen also addressed the stu dents. “Being out here makes all Aggies proud. This is a great tribute to your commitment to your fellow Aggies,” Bowen said. “You set a wonderful example. You support each other, the University, and the community.” Corps of Cadets outfit A Company, Rho Delta Chi sorority See Event on page 2 A* STUART VILLANUEVA • THE BATTALION Sophomore english major Ryan Cates scrapes the paint off a house Saturday at Big Event. andidates support Bonfire’s return SGA reverses flier decision This is the third of a three part series that presents the positions of the student body president candidates on issues of interest to students. IONDS il_ Cert. 5L Cert nc iis Bra 0 e\$ Single Question 5: What are your views on Bonfire’s absence? How will you work with a new administration and I;.*,, the student body to cope with the fthe 90-year tradition? COVENTRY p o tfire candidate Lara Pringle, bringing back 1rir> IS 3 t0p P riorit y f° r her administration. c om T ant ® on f* re back, I am advocating for Bonfire jug.? ac k safely and I accept the administration’s p r j , at 11 won’t be here in 2002,” she said. ^de e . Sa '^ s ^ e feds it is necessary to move past the ''fire ,ClSl ° n and focus on what can be done to ensure u re -j 8 , retu rn in 2003 and its continuation in the "fire e ,* 3est way to do this is to educate students on “I’ve^ * tS mean i n gr she said. de rsta e , en t0 Bonfire since I was 1 1 years old, so I ing} e n . the importance behind the tradition,’ derm ^ think we need to make sure that other Po" s do > too.” ire [k e sen i°r finance major, Bonfire is about much n watching logs burn on the Polo Fields. The By Sarah Szuminski THE BATTALION 90-year tradition encouraged cama raderie, teamwork and bonding and developed unity among the groups that were involved, she'said. Working with Traditions Council to write up a pro posal including the history and tradition behind Bonfire and explaining its importance to the student body and the University will help the new president to understand its background, Pringle said. She plans to actively involve students who have worked on Bonfire and stu dents that plan to work on it in the future. Pringle sees the need for an activity to promote unity on campus in the way that Bonfire did. Possible sugges tions by Pringle include a competition or a community service project. Finding and adopting a new tradition will rely on stu dent involvement, Pringle said, explaining that a new activity cannot be decided solely by leaders in student government. It is imperative to have input from as much By Rolando Garcia THE BATTALION The Student Government Association Election Commission reversed its recent decision to censor a class officer candi date’s campaign flyers. Shannon Dubberly, who is running against Christopher Farmer and Stephanie Goodman for Class of 2004 vice president, was instructed Wednesday to remove his flyers, which the commission deemed inappropriate, or face fines and possible disqualification. Election commissioner Caytie Sarandis, a senior recreation parks and tourism major, said she notified Dubberly Friday that all fines against him would be dropped and he would be allowed to distribute the flyers. “We [The election commission] still believe it’s distasteful and not in the best See Flier on page 8 See Bonfire on page 8 mnnmmmwmmmmsnh IKS I Sports Pg. 5 Aggies romp over Sooners Opinion Pg. 9 Beyond a shadow of a doubt America’s backup government is causing more harm than good WLATNLU ■BKEHSaHi HIGH 73° F LOW 42“ F —iTmiTi HIGH % ' > 61°F i LOW 4@«F